The Tibetan government-in-exile had planned to start a year of commemorative activities marking the 60th anniversary of a failed anti-Chinese uprising — which forced the Dalai Lama to flee his homeland and seek refuge in India — with a “Thank You India” rally at a New Delhi sports stadium, where the exiled spiritual leader was to address the crowd.

But prime minister Narendra Modi’s government told officials not to attend either the rally or an interfaith prayer meeting, which the government said came at a “very sensitive time” for India’s relationship with Beijing.

At similar commemorations in India a decade ago, the Dalai Lama accused the Chinese government of turning Tibet into “hell on earth” and driving the Tibetan language, culture and religion to the brink of extinction.

10年前，在印度举行的一场类似纪念活动中，达赖喇嘛控诉中国政府把西藏变成了“人间地狱”，把西藏的语言、文化和宗教推向灭绝的边缘。

The rally and prayer meeting in New Delhi have now both been cancelled. The rally will be held instead in Dharamshala, the Himalayan town where the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan exile community are based.

目前，原定在新德里举行的集会和祈祷会都取消了。集会将改为在达兰萨拉举行，这个喜马拉雅山下的小镇是达赖喇嘛和流亡藏人群体的据点。

Indian government officials told the Financial Times that New Delhi wanted to improve relations with Beijing after a volatile year that had seen the two countries at odds over various regional security and border issues, including a two-month border stand-off.

“A state of perpetual tension is not in the interest of either country,” an Indian official said. “We are not compromising. But we want to get things back on the normal track, which requires cautious management of the relationship.”

“长久地处于紧张状态不符合任何一国的利益。”一名印度官员说，“我们并非是在妥协，但我们希望让事情回到正轨上，这需要谨慎处理这段关系。”

But many Indian analysts are dismayed at New Delhi’s handling of the Tibetan’s planned anniversary function. Madhu Kishwar, an activist and academic, took to Twitter to decry the government’s “supine capitulation” to China, calling it “shocking and disappointing.”

Beijing, which calls the Dalai Lama “a splittist” trying to prise Tibet from Chinese government control, was incensed last April when he made an eight-day visit to India’s north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh — a region that China claims is part of Tibet.

Although Beijing warned his trip would “severely hurt” ties with India, New Delhi insisted the Tibetan Buddhist leader was an honoured guest, who was free to pursue his religious activities, including visiting his followers in the contested border region.

In mid-June, Chinese troops began building a road in territory claimed by both Beijing and the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, a close ally of India that New Delhi treats as a near protectorate. Indian troops moved in to stop construction, and the ensuing stand-off between the two Asian rivals lasted two months.